Macroeconomics, political science. Brunch, free afternoons. Close-knit friends, ongoing friendships.
Seniors Prakamya Agarwal and Rasika Iyer transitioned into Middle College from MVHS at the end of their sophomore year, while their close friend senior Shruti Shankar stayed at MVHS. From then on, a whole slew of events caused their relationships and academic lives to change.
According to the FUHSD website, Middle College is a program for high school students who wish to take high school required courses as well as college courses to graduate. In addition, the college rigor of the courses give a more independent atmosphere for the students. The Middle College program at DeAnza College requires students participating in this program to move from their past high school to a college setting. Click here for more information about the program.
“Basically, everything changed,” Agarwal said. “There were so many more classes to choose from, ranging from astrology to film. But the social aspect of high school wasn’t really there. I didn’t really start making new friends until my fourth or fifth week into school.”
Jumping into Middle College halfway through high school can make it seem like the student is going through freshman year all over again. Iyer described this similar struggle with her social life.
“I was just put into this environment where you don’t know anybody,” Iyer added. “Specifically with middle college, you’re younger than everybody, which makes it harder to adjust.”
The initial transition was a shock to all three students, but in different ways. For Shankar, the idea her closest friends leaving her behind and starting fresh in her junior year seemed like a daunting task to accomplish. But after planning out how she would tackle her life next year, her relationships with Iyer and Agarwal became stronger and much easier to manage.
“We all realized that this kind of stuff happens and you have to figure out how to make the best of the situation,” Shankar said.
Even though she did not have the traditional school hours of brunch, lunch and afterschool to catch up with her friends attending Middle College, she figured out other ways to keep contact at least once a day through phone calls or hangouts. This also gave Shankar the opportunity to step out of her comfort zone.
“Restricting yourself to talking to only two or three people isn’t really healthy,” Shankar said, “so instead of being upset that your friends are leaving, you can meet new friends and people.”
However, for Iyer and Agarwal, making friends and meeting new people was an addition to the idea of adapting to the academic environment of a college.
“[Middle College] is on a quarter system and that was definitely a big change for us,” Iyer said, “I felt like constantly throughout the quarter, I had one test coming up.”
Additionally, Middle College students did not get the expected guidance from a MVHS’ teacher.
“Until you went to [your professor’s] office hours, you were just a name on a paper,” Agarwal said. “I remember in 10th grade at MVHS, I did not do very well on a test and my math teacher wrote on my paper saying ‘come and see me after class’. You would never find that in college”.
With the hectic and unusual schedule in middle college, Iyer and Agarwal found it easier to meet new people but harder to maintain relationships from previous quarters. This is different from MVHS because MVHS allows students to build well-defined relationships throughout the year with other students, through rallies, traditional classroom settings and synced school breaks.
Middle College students, on the other hand, meet a completely new set of students in each of the three quarters that they study at the school. This makes it easier for that first conversation, but makes it much harder to have the initiative to maintain that relationship without designated school breaks or year-long courses.
In terms of graduation, Iyer and Agarwal hope to find closure at MVHS. As long as they meet their requirements for mandatory courses taken at Middle College and get an ‘okay’ from their counselor in this program, they are set to graduate this year. Instead of receiving their diploma at DeAnza College, they have the opportunity of walking at the MVHS graduation ceremony, which they are planning on doing.
As graduating seniors prepare for their future undergraduate college experiences, the three soon-to-be graduates hope for a smooth start with the skills that they have gained in their high school years. For Iyer and Agarwal, however, they feel that the experience at Middle College has gained them some advantages for their future endeavors.
“It’s kind of dipping your toe into the water before going into the pool,” Iyer said. “We got to experience that a little bit.”
